Swivel foosball man

ABSTRACT

A foosball man includes a swivel mounted foosball goalie man that replaces a traditional goalie man when a handle controlling a rod on a swivel rotates goalie in front of the goal area. When a foosball rolls toward the goal on the table surface, the defensive player moves of the handle to block the incoming ball. The swivel is mounted to the top of the foosball table and the rod can be mounted on a slider. A back wall retains the ball within the playing area or playing field.

This application claims priority from provisional application No. 60/619,448 filed Oct. 15, 2004.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

In traditional foosball, opposing teams control sets of men mounted on foosball rod assemblies. The traditional configuration is a table with 8 parallel rods. Each team has four rods to control. Each team has a defensive goalie that is either a one-man or three man at the player's goal. The next rod is the defensive two man followed by the opposing team's three man offense, followed by the defensive five man at the middle of the field. The three men and five man mounted parallel to each other do not move relative to each other but rather continue to face the same direction and move in unison since they are all rigidly secured to the same rod.

The remainder of the field is symmetrical. The ball is a small white plastic rigid sphere that can be hit by the men on the field when a player rotates and translates the handles to hit the ball. A single point is awarded for each ball hit into the opposing team's goal. Because the foosball teams have a pair of defense and a pair of offense rods and sets of men, the game can be played with four players with a pair of players on each team.

The traditional rod is mounted on a swivel that rotates by arm pronation because the axis of rotation crosses the field between the goals. The players stand facing each other and try to hit the ball into the opposing player goal on the right. The players defend their own goal that is on the left. Even though the players face each other, the ball movement and progression in the game is left and right.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A swivel 60 mounted goalie man 70 for foosball replaces the traditional goalie. FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment of the invention including a handle 50 connected to and controlling a rod 55 on a swivel 60. The handle can be any traditional foosball handle having a wooden or textured rubbery grip.

The swivel in the present invention has a vertical axis of rotation as opposed to the traditional horizontal axis of rotation that crosses the table. Thus, the swivel in the present invention moves the man across the table to block or catch a pass, and the man passes and shoots by translation. This is opposite to the traditional configuration because the traditional configuration uses rotation to pass and shoot but uses translation to move the man across the table to block or catch a pass.

Although all of the foosball rod assemblies could be swivel mounted, it is most advantageous to mount only the goalie player in swivel configuration. If the swivel mounted foosball man is the goalie only, a defensive goalie player stands facing the field as shown in FIG. 3. The defensive goalie player now stands at a 90 degrees angle from the defensive player's teammate and faces the opposing team goalie player. That defensive player goalie controls the goalie to block shots and to pass to his teammate who is standing to the right. The opposing player will be standing to the left.

The goalie 70 rotates in front of the goal 92 in a arc path 75 that crosses the goal area 94. When a foosball 80 rolls toward the goal on the table surface 90, the defensive player moves of the handle to block the incoming ball 80. The swivel is mounted to the top of the foosball table frame 100. A back wall 102 retains the ball within the playing area.

In a second embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the swivel is mounted to the top of the foosball table 100 and a back wall 102 retains the ball within the playing area. FIG. 2 shows a handle 50 connected to and controlling a rod 55 on a swivel 60. The rod is mounted on a slider that allows the player limited motion to move the rod relative to the table top frame 100 and control the man 70 up and down the field. This allows the goalie 70 to move in front of the goal 92 that is the goal area 94 in an area and that is an arc area. When a foosball 80 is shot at high speed toward the goal on the table surface 90, the defensive player moves of the handle to block the incoming ball 80. However, instead of just merely blocking the incoming ball 80, the defensive player retracts the handle 50 along the slider 65 to cushion to the incoming ball. A skillful player can thus catch the ball by retracting the handle along the slider when the opposing player shoots a fastball toward the goal of 92. The defensive player after catching the ball, moves the goalie 70 to pass to the defensive two man. Optionally, the single goalie can be replaced by a three man goalie. Optionally for beginners, an arc area 76 can be drawn on the play field defining the scope of the goalie position.

The slider and swivel should be combined into a single part called a slider swivel. The slider swivel would be able to allow a user to push a ball, and catch a ball by sliding the rod relative to the slider swivel. The slider swivel mechanism can include a bearing that allows sliding of the rod relative to the swivel while simultaneously allowing rotation along a vertical axis. Preferably, the bearing has a circular profile around a cylindrical rod. The user pushes the ball by extending the rod, and catches the ball by retracting the rod. The rod extends when the user pushes the rod so that the rod slides relative to the swivel so that the foosball man travels away from the controlling player's goal. The rod retracts when the user pulls the rod so that the rod slides toward the controlling player goal.

The swivel mounted goalie man device can be made as a kit to be retrofitted to an existing foosball table. The device can be connected to a traditional goalie, but would not provide an arc area path. When connected to a traditional goalie remaining attached to the traditional rod, the device translates rotational motion of the new handle into traditional translational motion, and translational motion of the new handle into traditional rotational motion. 

1. A foosball table comprising: a. a foosball table frame b. a foosball man; c. a rod on a swivel mounted to the foosball table frame, wherein the swivel has a vertical axis of rotation, wherein the foosball man is mounted on the rod; d. a handle connected to the rod for manual manipulation and control of the rod and foosball man.
 2. The foosball table of claim 1, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel is a goalie.
 3. The foosball table of claim 1, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel rotates in an arc path that crosses the goal area.
 4. The foosball table of claim 1, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel is a three man goalie.
 5. The foosball table of claim 2, further comprising a second rod on a swivel with a vertical axis of rotation and a second handle providing both teams with a swivel mounted defensive goalie.
 6. The foosball table of claim 5, further comprising a slider allowing a user to push a ball, and catch a ball by sliding the rod relative to the slider swivel.
 7. The foosball table of claim 5, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel rotates in an arc area of travel that crosses the goal area.
 8. A foosball table comprising: a. a foosball table frame; b. a foosball man; c. a rod, wherein the foosball man is mounted on the rod; d. a slider swivel mounted on the foosball table frame; wherein the rod is mounted on the slider swivel, wherein the slider swivel has a vertical axis of rotation, wherein the rod is slidably mounted to the slider swivel; e. a handle connected to the rod for manual control of the rod and foosball man.
 9. The foosball table of claim 8, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel is a goalie.
 10. The foosball table of claim 9, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel is a three man goalie.
 11. The foosball table of claim 9, further comprising a second rod on a swivel with a vertical axis of rotation and a second handle providing both teams with a swivel mounted defensive goalie.
 12. The foosball table of claim 9, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel rotates in an arc area of travel that crosses the goal area.
 13. A foosball goalie rod assembly comprising: a. a rod, wherein the foosball man is mounted on the rod; b. a slider swivel mountable on the foosball table frame; wherein the rod is mounted on the slider swivel, wherein the slider swivel has a vertical axis of rotation, wherein the rod is slidably mounted to the slider swivel via a bearing; c. a handle connected to the rod for manual control of the rod and foosball man.
 14. The foosball table of claim 13, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel is a goalie.
 15. The foosball table of claim 14, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel is a three man goalie.
 16. The foosball table of claim 14, further comprising a second rod on a swivel with a vertical axis of rotation and a second handle providing both teams with a swivel mounted defensive goalie.
 17. The foosball table of claim 14, wherein the foosball man mounted on the rod on a swivel rotates in an arc area of travel that crosses the goal area. 